5 Coolest Ways to Program Your Hue Lights That You Didn’t Know About

Included, is a list of 5 of the coolest things things you had no idea that you could user your Philips Hue lighting system for, but first, let’s consider how updates and new features for many automated components seem to slip by. How do these cool new features go unnoticed?

Tickle

This by far is the most intriguing IoT program I have ever heard of period. This app allows you to program your Hue Lights to turn on, off, and change colors.

It has a broad range of commands based on the use of a broad selection of gestures that can be used to trigger events. Basically, I discovered that I can program a taco to meow and turn my lights pink when I touch the screen or clap.

These are just a few of many programming options. It would seem that this app is geared towards the younger crowd but I have to admit that I was really excited about the prospect of learning basic visual programming skills with use of this app.

Not only does this program integrate with my lighting system but there is a whole list of other automated devices that can be programmed to function with use of this app. Look for more info on this app in future articles on programming IoT components.

IFTTT

If you’re a big fan of Prince you’ll love this one. You can use the IFTTT app to turn your Hue lights purple when it starts to rain.

If you happen to live in a place like California or the desert where it doesn’t rain very often, don’t worry. There are a few alternatives that are just as cool as this.

You can also set your Hue lights to change to a randomcoloreveryhour of the day with use of IFTTT. If you work from home it can be easy to lose track of time. This is a nice option to have because the color changes can serve as an aesthetically pleasing atmospheric reminder of the passing hour.

One of my personal favorite recipes for IFTTT is a setting that triggers the Hue lights to automatically alternaterandomcolors when the sun sets. This can also serve as a good measure for the end of the work day if you’re on a typical sort of 9-5 schedule, of course that is, depending on the seasons.

Hue Disco

This is probably one of the coolest dedicated 3rd party apps for Hue. It is programmed to alternatecolors with the beat of your music by using the built-in microphone on your phone or tablet. Microphone sensitivity, color change amount, theme, color gradient, brightness, colorfulness, and smoothness are all advanced light settings that can all be customized.

Hue App

The dedicate Hue app can trigger the lights to automatically turn on and off at set times of the day. You can also select the scene that you want to display as the lights toggle on and off.

Location-based controls offer a practical solution for ensuring that your lights automatically turn off when you leave home. These controls used to only be available through programming IFTTT to trigger these functions. Now updates to the Hue app have made time of day and location-based triggers, as well as several other additional options, available for more convenient ways to personalize your experience.

Amazon Alexa

If you wanted to be able control your Hue lights using voice controls you used to have to individually pre-program IFTTT to trigger events. Now you can tell Alexa to trigger these events just by speaking the appropriate commands without most of the fuss.

Now you can command Alexa to turn your Hue lights on and off. Many Echo and Echo Dot owners are finding that there are important steps to take to make sure that this skill is properly configured before it can be used.

What are your favorite apps, recipes, and commands? Can you think of any other automated devices that integrate well with these lights? Let us know in the comments below.